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COMMUNICATION
TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
WEDNESDAY 15TH MARCH 2006
ON CUBAN DENTISTS LEAVING THE BAHAMAS
March 15, 2006
Hon.
Fred Mitchell
Minister of Foreign Affairs & The Public Service
I wish to announce for public
information that two Cuban citizens Dr. Marialys Daris Mesa (female) and
Dr. David Aquino Gonzalez Mejais who entered The Bahamas as illegal
immigrants were escorted out of The Bahamas yesterday 14th
March 2006 at 8 a.m. They
were bound to Jamaica, and from there they made their way to a third
country, the United States of America.
Normally, such an intervention
as this is not necessary on the fate of two people who are illegal
migrants to this country. However,
the nature of the public discussion has been such that some further
public explanation is required on this matter.
This is all the more so because of the intense and often
acrimonious public commentary in the United States of America including
comments by some public officials of that country.
It is important to understand
the time line in this matter and the events that followed.
In April 2005, the United States
Coast Guard interdicted the two individuals along with others in
Bahamian waters. They were
turned over to The Bahamas in accordance with the protocols governing
relations with the United States on these matters.
At the time of the handover, it
was pointed out to the U.S. authorities that the two individuals
appeared to have the right to travel to the United States since they
were in possession of visas for that country.
Nevertheless, the Coast Guard insisted on handing these
individuals over to The Bahamas.
Once within the jurisdiction of
The Bahamas, certain procedures ensue.
These procedures as they relate to citizens of Cuba are governed
by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Cuba and the
Government of The Bahamas signed on 12 January 1996 by Janet Bostwick,
my predecessor in office, and later amended by a protocol on 15 June
1998; also signed by my predecessor in office.
I make this point not for any
partisan advantage since agreements signed between sovereign nations
bind all Governments regardless of their political hue.
I make this point because at
least one newspaper columnist of Freeport ignorantly asserted that I had
signed a migration accord between The Bahamas and Cuba. That as you see is patently false.
I am advised that when The
Bahamas signed these accords it was believed to be in the national
interest of The Bahamas because at that time, we were experiencing a
large influx of Cuban migrants in our borders who were using The Bahamas
as an intermediate stop between The Bahamas and the United States.
I am advised further that the
accord was signed to stop the unregulated flow of migration to this
country from Cuba by persons who were clearly using our country to get
to the United States. Indeed,
at that time during the 1990s it was our neighbour, the US, who
indicated that there would be repercussions if Cuban migrants were not
stopped from using The Bahamas as a way station.
The PLP was in Opposition when
these accords were signed; and we made the point then and we objected to
the fact that the agreements were not subject explicitly to our
international obligations pursuant to the protocol to the United Nations
Convention on Refugees.
That international convention
and the protocol to which we are also bound, asserts that where a
migrant comes to our country, whether legally or illegally and has a
well grounded and credible claim of fear of persecution upon being
returned to their home country that person cannot be returned by us to
their home country.
The accord between Cuba and The
Bahamas binds us to notifying the Cuban government within 72 hours of
the arrival of their citizens in The Bahamas, and Cuba is bound to
repatriate their citizens within 15 days.
We
have asked for discussions to begin with Cuba to review all of these
procedures. In the mean
time, however, the Cabinet made a decision in 2004 that the protocols
would be strictly adhered to so that we can seek to avoid a situation
such as we were faced with over the past year on these two individuals.
The
Minister of Immigration has pledged to improve this process so that
repatriation can be accomplished on a timely basis.
The agreements between Cuba and
The Bahamas admit to no exceptions.
Within their terms, all Cuban migrants must be returned to Cuba.
In this particular case, the
procedures for screening these particular migrants were complete by June
2005. At that time, both
the Department of Immigration of The Bahamas and confirmed by the United
Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) determined that:
1.
The two individuals did not have a well grounded fear of
persecution;
2.
Did not qualify for political refugee status;
3.
Should be returned to Cuba.
It is important to note also
that neither individual asserted a claim for political asylum at that
time. It was only after the
Cuban government was notified that they were to be returned to their
home country, Cuba; that the United States of America requested on
behalf of families of the two people that they be paroled out on
humanitarian grounds to the United States.
In law the United States had no
standing in the matter. This
was a matter involving Cuban citizens who were illegal migrants to The
Bahamas. Nevertheless, in
the interest of comity we advised those who contacted us (in the United
States) that The Bahamas would review the matter further if the
individuals concerned made a request.
The individuals themselves had standing.
In public comments on this
matter, some have sought to frame this as The Bahamas being more afraid
of Castro than valuing friendship with the United States.
That is foolishness and commentary rooted in ignorance.
I have said also that when two sovereign countries make an
Agreement, they are bound by that Agreement.
It is in the interest of The Bahamas to neither engage in nor
participate in a war of words and rhetoric with partisans from Cuba who
are émigrés in another country. That
is not a battle for The Bahamas.
What we know is that the
Government of Cuba and the Government of the United States also have a
migration accord which allows the U.S. authorities to repatriate Cuban
migrants from the high seas back to Cuba.
Both countries honour their agreements despite their political
differences. The Bahamas
honors its agreements as well. In
that we are no different than the United States.
The Government of Cuba has
honoured all of its agreements with The Bahamas. Its representatives and leadership have already treated this
country, our people and our Government, no matter the political
administration, with the utmost honour and respect.
We have a legally binding international obligation. We have close fraternal ties with Cuba both bilaterally and
multilaterally. Some 20,000
Bahamians visited Cuba last year. There
are in addition to tourists, Bahamian students in Cuba and those who go
there for health care. There
are Bahamians in prison there.
Some argued that the Government
of The Bahamas should have simply broken its agreements with Cuba
without regard for the possible consequences.
This was the option that would show that we could “stand up to
Castro”.
They had apparently no thought
for the fact that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and
whether our country was prepared to deal with the possible outcomes of
abrogation of the agreements.
One concern was what if an
abrogation led to an exodus of people from Cuba, a signal having been
sent out that we were back to the pre-1996 days when Cuban migrants came
here, and with a wink and disappeared with the help of smugglers into
the United States. The
possible pool of such migrants is said to number some half a million
people, almost twice the population of the entire Bahamas.
There were two choices, either
abrogate the agreement or seek through discussions an understanding for
an exception on the point.
A third way, of course, was to
close our eyes and let them walk out the gate, contrary to all rules
laws and norms, clearly an option which was exercised in the past.
We decided to respond with a diplomatic initiative, maturely;
which took us into discussions with other countries and other
representatives of the state of Florida, among them Congressman Kendrick
Meek.
We are not going to close our
eyes and let them walk out the gate.
Not in this country, not at this time; the rule of law prevails
under us. The Prime
Minister led a purposive initiative; decisively dealing with this in a
precedent setting way, including discussing the matter when it was
raised during the visit of Jeb Bush the Governor of Florida.
Those who suggested that this
matter adversely affected US / Bahamas relations should note that a
formal visit by the Governor took place during the time that this was
unfolding and during that meeting there were intense and positive
discussions on the matter.
We even had discussions with any
number of private sector friends in The Bahamas and South Florida
seeking a way forward to resolve this in accordance with the law.
So everyone was aware of what
was being done to resolve this as quickly as possible...
Sensitive to the humanitarian concerns but acting in accordance
with the provisions of the Agreement on Migration between Cuba and
ourselves, we took the course that any sovereign country would take.
This required the mature
consideration of the government over a number of months, and at the
highest levels of the government.
We have now resolved the problem in the best interests of all
concerned. The matter has
now been resolved with the departure of the individuals to their
destination of choice.
The integrity of our country is
intact. All of our
international obligations have been honoured.
Our relationships have been preserved with all parties.
The Right Honourable Prime
Minister took the lead in this matter, and it was done in the best
interests of our country. It
is clear that the matter has been satisfactorily resolved in the best
interest of all.
Mr. Speaker; in light of all of
the invective against our country in certain quarters in South Florida
and in the legislature of the United States in a matter where this
country extended itself to accommodate the requests of a friendly
country; Bahamians should instruct themselves on how the interests of
countries operate.
It is interesting what certain
quarters in South Florida think of us.
We interact with in the Florida economy on a daily basis to the
tune of 1.4 billion dollars a year.
We have been called every name
in the book when it is this country that extended itself to help.
At the very time that one Congressman appeared on a national news
programme in the United States, the Government of the United States was
fully aware of exactly what was being done to resolve this issue.
Yet, our country was pilloried for it, and most unfairly and the
comments were totally unjustified.
Further, it is also clear that
in terms of the media activity and the negative comments on the matter,
the Bahamian press seemed to be more active than any other in
misinformation, and in helping to alarm the Bahamian public
unnecessarily.
Comments made yesterday by a
member of this place, from the side Opposite are symptomatic of the
problem that seems to take not the Bahamian view; not a patriotic
position of standing up for our country, but taking the view espoused by
another country. Our
Governor General Arthur Hanna used to say “My country right or
wrong”.
The Bahamas is a friend to all.
We are at war with no country.
The Prime Minister led this
matter. It has resulted in
a decision that we believe is in the best interest of the country, and
preserves the rule of law, our international obligations and the
friendships with all the parties concerned.
We are particularly grateful to
the outgoing Prime Minister of Jamaica P.J. Patterson and his Foreign
Minister K. D. Knight, his Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Delano Franklin for their assistance to The Bahamas in this
matter. Some have asked why
the individuals flew to Jamaica. I
can only say that in diplomacy a country tries to make arrangements to
settle matters in the best interests of all.
Thanks to skillful negotiations at the highest levels, the best
interest of all parties has been achieved in this matter.
We appreciate the comity of the
Government of Cuba in this matter.
In particular our thanks go out to my counterpart in Cuba,
Foreign Minister Felipe Roque. Our
special thanks go to the Ambassador to The Bahamas from Cuba Felix
Wilson who is in every sense of the word a true friend of The Bahamas.
I thank also Assistant Secretary
of State for Latin America Dr. Thomas Shannon of the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I want to stress
that this matter was Bahamian driven.
No foreign agenda or foreign pressure drove this matter.
It was executed flawlessly yesterday by Bahamians: Bahamian
pilots Jason Sweeting and Kevin Knowles who work for Dr. Franklin
Walkine; Bahamian diplomats Ambassador Joshua Sears, our Permanent
Secretary Dr. Patricia Rodgers, Consul General Alma Adams, Commander
Godfrey Rolle of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of
Immigration headed by Vernon burrows and Lambert Campbell; the
Immigration Officers who flew to Jamaica yesterday Veldia Colby and Sean
Gordon; friends of The Bahamas, Gerardo Capo and his son-in- law Rafael
Reyes. I think this House
ought to show its special gratitude to all of these people for a job
well done.
Most of all, Mr. Speaker; I
congratulate on behalf of all colleagues the Prime Minister for his
exemplary leadership in protecting the integrity of The Bahamas and
painstakingly bringing this matter to an honourable and successful
conclusion.
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